Marvel's big Summer release IRON MAN 3 so far looks to be the most successful of the three films at the box office and with pretty good consensus among general audiences. However, the decision over the portrayal of The Mandarin has been a much heated topic among comic book fans who have been looking forward to the first big screen appearance. Many fans thought the revelation at the beginning of the third act was a big slap in the face of all the fans, while there are others mainly those not that well versed in the comics who thought it was a clever twist and went along with it.
I really had no stakes and absolutely no knowledge of the character portrayed in the comics on any level, so when I was first watching it in theaters I thought it was a neat trick. However, even as I was watching it I knew MARVEL was doing something that was going to be extremely controversial among fans. When it comes to adaptations it's always sort of one or the other, depending on how well the film pulls it off. I found IM3 engaging enough to go along with the twist but I do feel the most sure way of pleasing everyone is to just be true to the source material. As a Bond fan, I know what it's like seeing adaptations either being faithful to the original works or a bastardization that doesn't add anything worthwhile. I found the Bond film YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE to be an insult to what was one of the most pivotal books in the series, and yet I enjoyed MOONRAKER for what it was despite having nothing in common with the book.
How did you react to the Mandarin reveal and what does it mean to you? Does it place the following MARVEL entries in question? Have you lost faith or just consider this their first strike? Did you find the twist amusing despite looking forward a true big screen version of the character?
